Deadline is Tuesday to register for Florida presidential primary

The deadline for Florida voters to register or switch parties in advance of next month’s presidential primary election is Tuesday, February 16.

Florida’s Republican and Democratic voters will go to the polls on March 15 to help select their party’s nominee for president. Thirteen Republican candidates will appear on Florida ballots: Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Carly Fiorina, Jim Gilmore, Lindsay Graham, Mike Huckabee, John Kasich, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Rick Santorum, and Donald Trump. Six of those candidates — Christie, Fiorina, Graham, Huckabee, Paul, and Santorum — have suspended their campaigns as of Thursday. Democratic voters will see three candidates on their ballots: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and Martin O’Malley, who suspended his campaign earlier this month.

Florida election officials started mailing out absentee ballots this week. Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David Stafford said Tuesday that his office has delivered more than 20,000 absentee ballots to the postal service. Voters could receive their absentee ballots as early as Wednesday, he said.

For those not voting absentee, polling places will be open on Tuesday, March 15 from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Because Florida has closed primaries, and the party primaries are the only issue on the ballot, voters who aren’t affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic party won’t be able to vote.

To register to vote, change party affiliation, or update other information, Florida voters should contact their county supervisor of elections office. Contact information is available on the Florida Division of Elections website.